Calm as still water
by rhaegars
Summary: Arya and Carl have both lost so much in a world full of flesh eating monsters.. can they beat this new world together? *Cover image done by my friend Jenna M.*
1. Just the beginning

***I don't own anything except the story line***

*******  
"Daddy!" The little girl yelled running over to her father. "Daddy! Robb said there was a spider on me, can you make sure it's off? I jumped up and down to shake them off and everything but I'm scared!"

The girl looked to be about 6. With big grey eyes and untamed brown hair.

Her father laughed and picked her up. "Arya, my dear, you don't have a spider on you. Robb was fooling with you. Spiders are more scared of you then you are of them, don't be afraid. You're a brave little one." Arya looked confused as she bit her lip. "How can I be brave if I'm afraid?" Her father kissed her forehead and pushed her unruly hair out of her eyes. "That's the only time you can be brave."

**Arya**

When she opened her eyes, the sun was rising. Arya lay flat on her back on top some roof to a grocery store. The morning chill made the hairs on her arms stand up. It was calm, to say the least. Arya felt exhausted as she stood up and stretched, the dreams she had usually did that to her. Arya looked in the rucksack she had: 1 granola bar, 2 water bottles and a can of peaches. She couldn't remember a time where she had been full. She never even felt hungry anymore really, just numb.

Arya was wearing work boots and baggy jeans, and the long sleeve shirt she wore was two times too big. She had a dagger tucked inside one of her jean pockets and her gun in the back of her pants, ready incase she absolutely needed it. Slung over her shoulder was the petite sword one of her brothers had bought her when she was about 16, a few months before all this happened...

About a year and a half had passed since the outbreak, and Arya had lost everyone she loved. No one was to be trusted, she learned that the hard way. She had been running for a year since she lost her family. A couple of those months weren't spent alone, she met someone who helped her when she was weak, _dying_. He could have killed her but he saved her. Befriended her. _Loved_ her.

Arya threw her rucksack over her free shoulder and went to move down the fire escape. She would have to leave this town today and head for the next one, there was nothing here. Even biters were scarce. The closest town was about 5 miles heading east. Arya didn't have a destination anymore, all she did was run.

Arya stared at a sign that said "hitchhikers may be prison inmates" The sign had bullet holes through it, Arya kept walking forward, waiting to find the town she had been searching for.

About three hours and two swollen feet later, Arya found herself in front of a barricaded entrance to a town, when she looked up she saw a sign that said "Welcome to Woodbury!" It was one of those banners you normally see strung up at gradation parties. It seemed inviting enough, but Arya wasn't going to let her guard down too easily. She didn't expect the town to be barricaded off.. Maybe she could climb over the wall, get supplies and then sneak off. Surely there couldn't be many people inside..

A noise from behind her brought her back to reality, a biter was sauntering towards her. Arya pulled out her needle (she called her sword 'needle' because her father had told her every great sword needed a name.) and she started towards it. Just because she was small didn't mean she could be underestimated, she kicked the walker in the knee and watched him fall right before her feet. Arya then drove her sword into the dead persons skull, some blood spraying on her face. Watching the biter stop moving was almost as good as the fact that she was the reason it stopped moving. She enjoyed killing these things, the less of them the better. These things killed people she knew, people she loved, innocent people! It was kill or be killed now, and if you think otherwise, than you're an idiot.

"Well, what do we have here?"

Arya turned around quickly, her sword high and ready when she saw a man with one hand pointing a gun at her.

She heard the footsteps behind her, but the slow pace had made her believe it was a biter coming for her.. She thought she had enough time, how could she have been so stupid as to let her guard down for even a second?!

"Come on boy, drop your weapons." The man with one hand said to Arya as he motioned for her to do as he asked.

Arya clenched her jaw and didn't release her grip on her sword, "I'm not a boy."

Even before the outbreak, Arya had been mistaken for a boy on multiple occasions. But now, Arya had taken to chopping off her hair with her knife whenever it got too long. The biters can't grab your hair if you barely have any..

"Whatever." The man grunted. "You should do as your told, _girl_. You're the one with a sword, I've got a gun." He waved it over his head as if she was blind to the fact he was in the position to shoot her down. That's when Arya noticed that the metal contraption attached to his arm (the one without a hand) he had a knife attached to it. Arya felt uncomfortable with this but she didn't falter. "I'm not giving you my weapons. I've killed men your size before and I'm not scared to do it again."

The man looked at her like she grew another head and then he smirked. "You've got guts, kid. Tell you what, you give me that sword and hide any other weapons you might have.. I'll take you in and you can get cleaned up, fed, supplies for the road if you need 'em."

Arya stared at him. _No one can be trusted_. Would he really give her supplies? Cleaned up? Did that mean there was working water? And food?

"How do I know I can trust your word?" She asked, never letting up on her grip on her sword.

"I ain't looking for your trust, darling. But if you wanna live a little bit longer you're gonna have to do as I say." The man put his gun in his pocket and held out his hand to take her sword.

"And if I don't do as you say?" Arya challenged.

Arya knew she was pushing her limits with the man, but she didn't care. She would take the mans offer just to get in, get supplies and sneak out. If a man without a hand was the best person they had to guard the entrance to the town then Arya wasn't worried in the slightest.

The man glared at her and scratched the back of his head. "If you don't do as I say then you're gonna have a damn hard time trying to get into this town. I'm asking for your sword and telling you to keep your other weapons hidden, now I know you have other weapons, ain't no way in hell a small girl like you been surviving all this time with that dinky sword of yours.."

It was Arya's turn to glare at the man. "When can I get my sword back if I give it to you?"

The man smiled, he knew he was winning the argument. "When you've proved yourself.. You best make sure nobody sees any of your other weapons, you got me?"

Arya bit her lip, she did it mostly when she was nervous.

"There's men, women, and children here. We like the people who are trained properly to be the ones carrying weapons on them." He said to her, obviously trying to explain to the girl that he needed to take her weapon.

The thought of other children excited Arya. She hadn't seen another kid since...

She wasn't going to think about that.. Not right now.

Arya lowered her sword and put it back in it's sheath, then handed it to the one handed man.

The man took her sword and threw it over his shoulder. "The names Merle." The man motioned for her to follow him as he opened the gate. "And this is Woodbury."


	2. Starting over

**********  
"Carl! It's time for breakfast!" The boys mother called up the stairs to him. The boy had short, well cut brown hair and blue eyes. He looked to be 9 or 10 years old. The boys father came in the room and smiled at the boy. "Ready to eat?" The boy set down his comic book. "Is it pancakes again?" His father laughed. "You know it is.. every Sunday, Carl, every Sunday." Carl groaned. The boys father ruffled his sons hair. "We're the kind of family that's gonna eat pancakes on Sundays, whether we like it or not." Carl got on his feet and went down to the kitchen with his father. The boys mother stood there with her apron on, she had just finished setting the table. She smiled at her son and husband with such affection.

During breakfast, Carl's mother and father had a couple arguments. This was starting to happen a lot lately. Carl didn't understand why they were fighting, but he didn't like it. It was always something about dad not understanding, or how they needed to make sure they had enough money for bills. But his dad says he can handle it, and he does. And then his mom gets upset that he's never around enough.

After dinner, Carl trailed after his father up the stairs to his parents bedroom.. Which was two doors down from his.

"Hey, dad?" Carl said as he stood awkwardly in the door way. "Yes?" His father set down his sheriffs jacket on top of his bed.

"I- I don't see why mom has to argue with you all the time.. My best friend in class, his parents got a divorce and his dad left.. And I don't want you to leave." Carl said this all as he stared his father in the eyes, trying his best not to shed a tear even though he felt like crying at the thought of his dad leaving.

His father walked towards him and brought him in his arms for a hug. "Carl, I'm _not _going to leave you and your mother, ever. Mom... She just, she doesn't understand sometimes.. What it takes to be the man of the house." His father let go of him and looked at his face with an approving look. "You're gonna be the man of the house some day, and you might have to do things your wife doesn't understand in order to provide for her, like working all the time.. Like I do."

Carl thought about what his father said for a moment and then scrunched up his face. "Ew, I don't want a wife." His father laughed and patted him on the back. "You will fall in love with someone some day, bud."

**Carl**

It was a nice day to be outside farming, if you're into that kind of thing. Carl wasn't. In fact, he hated it. His father, Rick, was feeding the pigs while he was getting water from the bucket they had in the courtyard.

About a year and a half had passed since the outbreak, Carl figured he was about 16 by now. His hair was getting so long he has to push it out of his eyes. He wore a plain gray t shirt and a pair of dirty blue jeans. Carl had his fathers sheriffs hat that he normally wore, but he couldn't wear it _farming. _Now that would be laughable.

Carl's mom, Lori, walked up to Carl as he was heading down to the pig pens to meet up with his dad. She was holding her stomach as she walked. She was huge! She was going to be having his baby brother or sister any day now.

"My little farmer." Lori said as she placed her hand on her sons cheek and smiled affectionately at him.

"Don't call me that." Carl felt his cheeks get red. Lori laughed and pinched his cheek. "We're gonna be referring to you as 'big brother' soon enough." Carl straightened up when his mother said that, and wore a proud face. "Now get going, your fathers waiting for you." Lori patted his head and watched Carl walk towards the pig pens.

Rick was digging up soil and worms when Carl walked up to him, "I got the water." Carl stated as he knelt down to start helping his father dig. "Thanks bud."

Their relationship had changed a lot since the outbreak. There was a point in time where Carl believed his father was dead. His father was in a coma for about a month and a half.. Carl and his mother, and his father's best friend, Shane, all left their hometown to go to Atlanta where they heard there was a safe zone. They met people on the highway they were waiting at and all decided it best if they stuck together. Once they made camp, some of the group decided to go into the city and get supplies. When they came back, a miracle happened, Carl's father stood before him.. he woke up from his coma, he found them! He didn't even know about the dead rising, but he survived them. In Carl's eyes, Rick was a superhero.

But that was a long time ago, Carl didn't know what Rick was anymore. A leader? A father? His father used to be able to do anything, and now it seemed like he was slipping.. something just wasn't right anymore.

A year ago, Carl was taught how to handle a gun after he had accidentally been shot by someone tracking a deer. But it had been a month since Carl had been allowed his gun. His mother thought it best that Carl didn't have the gun on him anymore because they were safe inside the prison walls. But she didn't understand, they weren't safe. _Safe_ isn't a word you can use anymore.

Carl looked over to where the walkers were piling up against the outer walls of the prison. "So, they only took out one cluster yesterday, they're probably going to need more people today.. Maybe we could help." he nodded over to the fence, hoping Rick would at least _think_ about it. It had also been a month since Rick had used his gun. He'd been preoccupying himself with farming duties.. "I got other plans, involving dirt and cucumbers.. keeping the people fed." Rick said and gave Carl a small smile. "Well, if you don't want to maybe I could.. could I?" Carl picked up on the fact that his dad said 'I' and not 'we'... maybe he was finally going to give Carl another chance to prove himself! "We have other plans.. Is what I should of said." Rick picked up his bucket of dirt and worms and started for the pen.

Of course, _they _had other plans. It was always "Carl, help your mom with chores." "Carl, come help me feed the pigs." "Carl, go read your comics." Why couldn't he help keep watch, or help clear the perimeter? How come he couldn't go out for runs with Daryl and Glenn and Maggie? He was a good shot. He could contribute to the group, just because he was the youngest didn't mean he wasn't capable of helping out.

"Dad, sorry... I've been trying." Carl said to Rick hoping he didn't disappoint his father in any way. "Yeah, I know.. I'm proud." Carl glowed with pride for a moment and then braced himself, "Dad.. when can I have my gun back?" Rick looked at him for a moment with a blank face and then poured the dirt and soil into the pig's food bucket. "The worms will give them some extra protein."

Before Carl could say anymore on the subject, a scream from the courtyard had Rick and Carl stop dead in their tracks. A woman's scream. _Lori's_ scream.


	3. We're Alive

**Arya**

The one handed man, Merle, had shown Arya around Woodbury and the tour had taken at least an hour. Woodbury had pretty much everything you could think of, a library, loads of food, enough rooms for 100 people, working lights, an actual doctor with medical supplies, clothes, working showers, you name it! They even had a tank.. Maybe Arya had underestimated them just a little. A tank?

Once Merle was done with the tour he brought Arya to a room and told her to stay put and that he would be back with clothes and food for her.

Arya couldn't help but feel nervous without her sword, even though she had a hand gun and a knife, it just wasn't the same thing.

At least no one but Merle knew she even had weapons. Woodbury had a body count of about 60 people from what she saw. More than half of them being woman, children, and older people. The rest were men that were guarding the town and it's walls. They looked like juveniles with heavy duty weapons. Arya knew they weren't anything special, they most likely stole those weapons from the people that could have actually done something..

Arya got the feeling these people weren't good people, maybe the children and women just had no idea what was going on.. But she had to get out of there.

Where was Merle with her sword?

As if on cue, Merle stalked in the room with clothes in his hand and a bottle of water. He looked angry. Arya was about to question him, until she realized a man walk in behind Merle.. He was holding a tray of food. He was tall with chestnut brown hair and he had the smile of a man who had it all. The glint in his eyes made Arya uneasy and she took a step back. The motion didn't go unnoticed by the man.

"I heard we had a new recruit, I didn't know you'd be so.. Young."

The man looked her over like she was one of his creations that he didn't know whether he hated it or liked it..

"I'm not a recruit. Merle said I could get supplies and get checked over by your doctor and then he will give my sword back and I can leave." Arya stated, staring into the mans eyes.

The man gave her a look of annoyance but quickly masked it. He smiled and put the tray of food on her bedside table.

"Of course, we can get you checked by our doctor tomorrow, she's a little busy at the moment." He shared a look with Merle before continuing, "I'll also check out what we can do for you for supplies tomorrow, but for now.. Eat and rest! You'll be safe while you're here. Our friend Merle forgot to get your name.."

He looked expectantly at Arya. For a moment she forgot what her real name was, she used different names all the time with people she didn't know.. _Beth, Cat, Arry._

"Don't lie, girl. I always know when someone's lying."

Arya laughed in her head. She bet she could outsmart him. She was a good liar. Arya didn't use to lie so much, before everything happened.. She was around people she trusted. It was acceptable to lie to people you didn't trust, well, at least that's what she told herself.

"My names Cat." Arya said without missing a beat, staring at the man intently.

The man smiled at her, as if impressed she didn't disobey him.

"Cat, so your full name would be Catherine?"

"Catelyn."

_Catelyn was her mothers name._

"Well, Cat.. I'm Phillip. But everyone around Woodbury has taken to calling me the Governor.. It's just a nickname that stuck." Phillip laughed to himself and then opened the door to leave.

Phillip looked at Merle and then back at Arya.

"So Merle, all this little girl had was that sword?"

Arya stiffened. He was still looking at her. She played with the strap of her rucksack on her shoulder and then threw the bag on the floor towards the governor.

"All that's in there is a can of peaches, two water bottles and a granola bar. I'm good with my sword, I don't need any other weapons."

The governor gave her a look of.. Curiosity? He searched through her bag and then looked pleased with what he saw and put it back down.

"You're alone."

It was a statement, not a question.

Arya noted that this man didn't like beating around the bush.

She nodded her head once and then looked at Merle, he didn't seem as angry as he was when he walked in, but he was still tense.

"Well, _Cat_.. We can talk more tomorrow. Have a good night."

He smiled once more and left the room, leaving Arya and Merle alone.

The way he said her name and smiled at her had left her with clenched fists.

Arya did _not _like the Governor.

"Close call, kid." Merle said as he handed Arya the clothes. "I thought for sure ya were bout to give him your other weapons."

"That would have been stupid."

Arya relaxed a little bit and looked at the clothes Merle had handed her.. A black long sleeve that looked two times too big and a pair of jeans and a pair of sweat pants.

"The shower is in that room there," Merle pointed to the door on her left and then set down the water bottle. "Just try not to use all the hot water."

Merle looked as uncomfortable as Arya felt.

"When can I have my sword back?"

Merle looked at her and then sighed.

"Tomorrow, after ya get looked at by our doctor. We should have supplies ready for ya by then and then ya can leave." Merle opened the door and then looked back at Arya once more. "Get some rest."

And with that he left the room.

Arya put her rucksack on the bed and got ready to take a shower.

When she got out of the shower, she changed into the clothes Merle had given her, the sweatpants fit surprisingly well.

She felt like a whole new person. The last time she bathed had been weeks.. months ago? She also noticed that she had gotten so skinny that you could pretty much see her ribs. Her hair was getting kind of long as well, but it was still a choppy mess. She'd have to cut some off soon.

After admiring the wonders a shower could do, she laid in bed and picked at some of the food the governor had left her and then thought about how she was going to get out of the mess she was in this time.

Arya was obviously way more exhausted then she let on, because the moment she closed her eyes, she fell asleep and the dreams kicked in...

*****  
The black haired boy looked at her and smirked.

"Have you ever been out of Georgia?"

He licked his lips and waited for an answer.

He always licked his lips when he was nervous. Arya wondered what he was nervous about this time, they were set up pretty nice in the abandoned house they found two days prior.

"Once. My parents took my brothers and sister and I to Disney World."

Arya smiled at Gendry.

She hadn't felt this happy in a while, she felt safe with him, Gendry had found her when she was weak, after she lost her family. He was her family now.

"Why are you smiling?" He looked at her like she had three heads. "We're in a world full of flesh eating monsters and you're smiling at me!"

Arya punched him in the arm.

"Shut up, stupid! We're safe at the moment, in this house, you and I, and were alive."

"We're never safe."

Arya frowned and looked away.

_Why could he never look on the bright side of things?_

"I get it. You can smile because you're alive."

"Because _we're _alive." Arya corrected him.

When Arya looked back at Gendry, his glossy eyes were sunken in and he was reaching towards her..

But his flesh was decomposing at the fingertips..

Arya screamed and backed away.

"No!"

Somehow her sword was in her hands.

"NO!"

Gendry was closing in on her.

Arya woke with a start and sat straight up. She was sweating and shaking.

She hoped she hadn't screamed in her sleep, she used to do that when she was younger.

When she looked out the window it was still dark out, she figured she was in for a rough night.


	4. Don't let the world spoil you

**Carl**

Carl paced the cell block.

He was anxiously waiting for the arrival of his new brother or sister.. He didn't think he would ever get a sibling, considering everything that's happened.

"Carl," Rick motioned for him to come in the room.

_"No more kids' stuff." _His fathers voice echoed in his mind.

When Carl walked in the cell, he saw his mother sleeping on the cot. She looked so weak, so fragile.. Carl shuddered at the thought of her being this vulnerable, what if something happened and they needed to get out quickly?

Nothing would happen, his dad would make sure they would be okay even if something did happen.

Carl turned towards Hershel, the man holding his baby brother or sister. Hershel had saved Carl's life when he got shot. It was an accident. But the group had warmed up to the Greene's, and they were apart of the family now.

"You ready to say hello to your baby sister, Carl?" Hershel smiled at him and handed him his sister.

A sister. She had the same nose as he did, that was for sure.

Just then he made a promise to himself that he would put his all into keeping her safe.

Holding his baby sister was an experience like no other. After everything they had been through, after all the people they lost, she was here. She was real. She was the light at the end of their tunnel, their _hope._

***  
Later that day, everyone had gathered in the cell block to discuss going out for a run.

"We can go to that place I was telling you about." Daryl said picking his nails while looking at Rick.

"Rick shouldn't go anywhere, he needs to stay here with Lori and the baby." Carol piped in.

"Let me go, I can be there and back. No problems and I'll be quick." Glenn stated.

"If you go, I'm coming with you." Maggie said putting her hand on Glenn's.

"I can go with you guys, I can help." Carl spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at Carl, and then they turned to Rick.

They were all going out on a run for _his _mom and sister. He wanted to help. It wasn't like he was a little kid anymore.

"You're going to stay here and sort out the food with Beth, that's what you're doing." Rick said, his voice full of authority.

Of course he wasn't allowed to go.

"Dad, I can help! If you would just give me my gun back-"

"Carl, I don't want to hear another word about it. You're not going."

Carl stormed off.

When was his dad going to stop treating him like he was still a little kid? It was his moms idea in the first place that his gun got taken away from him, she said since we were secure place that he didn't need to carry around a gun.

Carl thought that was bullshit.

They were never safe! He should have his gun, just incase he needed it.

_Shane would have agreed with him. _Carl thought bitterly.

"Carl, slow down!" Rick said from behind him.

Carl stopped in his tracks and rolled his eyes.

Just what he needed, a lecture.

"What?" Carl asked not turning around to face his father.

Rick sighed. "Look, I know you're mad.. But I don't think you're ready to go out for runs and you know your mom wouldn't allow it."

Why wasn't he ready? What did he have to do to prove himself?

"And besides, Glenn and Maggie will be in and out, they shouldn't have to worry about keeping an eye on you out there."

Because that's what Carl was, someone to be watched 24.7.. like a _child._

When Carl and his father had a talk back at the Greene's house, Rick had handed Carl a gun and said 'no more kids' stuff.' How can he say that and then still treat him like a kid?

"I can handle myself." Carl said defiantly.

"You may think you can, bud.. But you can't, and deep down I think you know that."

Carl walked away from his father then and continued walking down the hall, he found himself standing in front of the cell his mom and sister were in. He sucked in a breath and walked in.

When he walked in, he didn't expect to see his mom awake.. but there she was, smiling at him.

He looked in the corner of the room and saw Beth holding his little sister, talking to Hershel. Carl turned back to his mom and returned the smile. He was glad to see his mom was doing better.. maybe he could convince her he was ready for more responsibility, and she could convince his dad.

"Hey mom. How are you feeling?" Carl sat down beside his mother.

"Still have to rest, but I'll be up and moving in no time. How are you feeling, you look upset."

Carl breathed a laugh. "I'm just sick of being treated like a kid. I'm like 16 now. I know how to use a gun, Shane taught me himself!" Carl noted the look in his mothers eyes when he mentioned Shane. "You and dad won't even let me carry around a gun, what if I needed it? What if it came down to it and I had to protect her?" Carl motioned towards his baby sister.

His mother looked at him for a moment and placed her hand on his cheek. "Honey, I know you want to help protect us, but that's why we have your father, Daryl, Glenn, and Maggie. Once I'm feeling better, I'm going to get in more shooting practice and help out too. Why put your life on the line when we can avoid it?"

"Because mom, I need to be able to defend myself! What if something happened and we had to run? We always run!"

Carl felt like crying. No one understood him, or maybe they just didn't care.

He was about to say something else until he realized his mother had started to cry.

"You're gonna be fine. You are going to beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you. You gotta do what's right, baby. Promise me you will always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So, if it feels wrong don't do it, alright? If it feels easy don't do it, don't let this world spoil you. You're so good, my sweet boy. Best thing I ever did, I love you, I love you. My sweet, sweet, boy I love you."

Lori was holding Carl in her arms while Carl sat stunned. He didn't know why she was crying and saying these things, but he felt comforted by the fact that she had said them.

"I-I love you too, mom. I promise, I'll always do the right thing."

Lori dried her eyes and giggled to herself. "Sorry, Carl, I guess I'm still a little emotional. You're growing up so fast-"

Carl stopped her before she started crying again, "mom, it's okay."

"I'll talk to your father about letting you help out a bit more, we can slowly work up to you getting your gun back, okay?"

This shocked Carl even more.

"Okay. I'll show you guys I'm ready for this responsibility."


	5. Nothing is just nothing

**Arya**

There was something off about Woodbury, that much was for sure.

When Arya got up from her restless slumber.. she showered once more, not knowing the next time she'd be able to. After she was done she put on the jeans she had been given and stuffed her knife in the front of her pants and her gun in the back. She then threw on her rucksack and went to open the door.. But when she went to grab the handle the door flew open and she jumped back.

"Good! You're up. Weren't tryna leave now were ya?"

It was Merle, and he had a water bottle and a smushed sandwich stuffed in his pocket. Arya figured that was for her.

"No, I just wanted to walk around."

Merle handed her the sandwich and water and smirked at her.

"Ya lets take a walk. Maybe you'll like what ya see."

When they got outside, Merle started towards a small group of people and Arya followed.

"Hey blondie!" Merle slung a shoulder around the blonde haired girl.

"What do you want, Dixon?"

"Was wondering how you were feeling? Heard the doc was checking you out last night after I left."

"Oh, look at you.. Concerned for my health." The blonde rolled her eyes and then she realized Arya standing behind Merle.

Merle turned to see what the blonde was looking at and then seemed to remember Arya.

"Ah, blondie. This is Cat. She came to town yesterday too."

"I'm Andrea, this is Michonne." Andrea motioned to the woman standing next to her.

Arya hadn't even noticed her until then. Michonne only looked at Arya with a straight face. She didn't say a word.

"Hi." Was all Arya could manage to say.

They came to town last night too? Why was Merle speaking to this woman as if he'd known her longer than a night? Now Arya knew what the shared look between Merle and the governor was about..

"Well, this one said she wanted to walk around. Now, I got some stuff to take care of, so why don't you lovely ladies hang out with her for a bit?"

"Wait," Arya didn't have anything against these women but she was promised supplies and her sword. She was ready to leave. "I want my things. I want to go."

Merle scoffed. "Listen, girlie, we said you'd get your things but I got some work to do. 'Sides, if you're alone, ya aint got a place to go to in a hurry."

And with that, Merle stalked off.

Michonne rolled her eyes. "They said the same to us. They said we'd get our things this morning and we could go. This place isn't what they say it is."

Arya felt a brief moment of panic and then bit her lip. So this woman had a bad feeling about this place too.

"What do you mean, 'it's not what they say it is'? Do you know something?"

"Don't worry, Cat." Andrea cut in, "Michonne is just paranoid."

Michonne glared at her friend for a moment and then looked away.

"I took a walk this morning. Early, before everyone was up. I checked out the tank, and there's fresh bullet holes on the _outside _of it. I'm pretty sure the walkers didn't learn how to shoot guns."

Andrea shifted nervously and then shrugged.

"Could have been anything, Michonne. What right do we have to judge these people, we don't know them. We don't know what they've had to do to survive."

Arya didn't like this new information. Just another reason she needed to get out of there. This group could be like the last group she was with.. And Arya didn't want to stick around to find out. If anything she could wait until everyone's sleeping tonight and find her sword herself and then just leave. That's if Merle doesn't stick true to his word.

Maybe she could find that prison, she remembered seeing a sign about prison mates being hitchhikers. There had to be supplies there.. She just would have to figure out a way in..

"Cat?" Andrea and Michonne looked at Arya expectantly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Lets go see if they're serving lunch." Andrea said with a smile.

Arya smiled back. "Yeah, sure."

_A couple hours later_...

Arya, Andrea, and Michonne were sitting in the small park in the middle of town.

Arya learned that Andrea used to be with a group, until they got separated by a herd of walkers.. From there, Michonne saved Andrea from a couple strays in the woods and they'd been traveling together ever since.

Michonne didn't talk about herself, she actually didn't talk much at all. She said they were _brought_ here. That didn't sit well with Arya. Even though Andrea said she was deathly ill and needed the medical care, Arya felt like these people just kept getting stranger.

"Where are you guys going when you leave here?"

Arya didn't know why she asked but she forgot how much she missed being around people. Maybe she could travel with them, just for a little while.. They could all find that prison.

"Far away from here." Michonne said instantly.

"Me too, maybe we could-"

Arya was cut off by Merle rushing over.

"Cat. The governor would like to see ya."

"What about us?" Michonne glared at Merle.

"He'll see ya later." Merle brushed her question off. "Thank ya ladies, for keeping her entertained. C'mon now kid, lets go."

Arya stood up and glanced back at Michonne and Andrea, wondering if she'd ever see them again.

Arya followed Merle to a building she hadn't been in yet, she figured she was being taken to the doctor.

Her suspicions were confirmed when they walked in the room and she saw the governor in a tense conversation with the nurse.

Phillip stopped talking abruptly and glanced at the door. He collected himself and put a smile on.

"Hello, Cat. Merle tells me you were taking a look around town with our new guests, did you all like what you saw?"

Arya didn't answer, instead she looked around the room. They had a nice medical supply. Arya found that strange.

"I appreciate you letting me stay the night and giving me supplies, but I just want my sword back, I want to hit the road."

Arya spoke without looking at the Governor. She chanced a glance at Merle and he was looking at her curiously.

"Well, we can talk about that after you get checked out by our nurse, her name is Gillian. After your done, Merle can take you up to where I'm staying and we can have dinner and talk about where we'll go from here."

Arya looked at the Governor and felt a pang of anger.

"There's nothing to talk about, you said I could go."

"I'll see you soon, Cat." The Governor left the room.

Arya balled her fists at her side.

"Alright dear, lets get you checked out."

After Gillian looked her over, she felt more calm than she had before.

Arya was told she needed to eat more, but other than that she was good. She wasn't sick. Arya couldn't afford to get sick.

Merle brought her up to the Governor's room without a word when she was done.

"Are you staying in the room with us?" Arya questioned, stopping in her tracks before they reached the door.

"Why, ya gonna miss me?"

Arya rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to be alone with him."

"He ain't gonna hurt you."

Arya bit her lip.

"Are you sure?"

Merle sighed and knocked once on the door.

"I'll be right outside the door, kid."

Arya didn't feel any comfort with Merle's words. At least if it came down to it, she had her gun.

The door opened and the governor looked down at Arya with a chilling smile.

"Merle, why don't you go check on Andrea and Michonne."

Arya stiffened and looked at Merle.

He looked at her once and then looked at Phillip and nodded his head once, then turned to leave.

"Come on in, I've had some chicken cooked up for us with some green beans."

When Arya walked in, it was like she walked into a library. The room had shelves on all the walls, full of hundreds of books. There were even books on the floor.

"You like books?"

Phillip was leaning against the threshold.

"Yes."

She didn't want to carry a conversation with this man. She was curious as to why the Governor wanted to talk to her and why he wasn't getting straight to the point? Was he trying to put her on edge?

_Calm down, Arya._

She went to feel her sword, on her right side, down where it dangled. She did it out of habit, she always made sure she had it.

Phillip noticed her action and smirked.

"I know you would like your weapon back, but I don't feel comfortable with you carrying it around my people. We don't even know you, we don't know about the group you were with before-"

"How do you know I was with a group?"

Arya was feeling very angry now, he was pushing her limits.

"Well, gotta figure a little girl like yourself didn't survive all this time by yourself."

They stared at each other for a minute, neither saying anything.

The Governor broke the silence first, "Why don't you talk about the last group you were with? What were they like?"

"No. I don't want to talk about them."

"We're they bad people?"

His voice sounded almost caring.

"Yes." She said through gritted teeth.

"Where?"

"What?" Arya was caught off guard by the question.

"Where was this group? Where did you come from?"

"Far from here. Doesn't matter, they're all dead. Everyone I knew is dead."

Arya felt helpless. What right did this man have to make her talk about what happened? How could she relive that?

"Alright lets eat."

The governor led her into his dining room, the food was already set at the table.

After they sat down and started eating, Phillip tried questioning Arya again.

"So, how old are you?"

Simple enough.

"Probably 16, maybe 17."

"I don't know if I feel comfortable letting a 16 year old girl out on her own in a world like this when there's protection and everything you need in this town."

Arya couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't stay here, he couldn't make her stay here. She was about to make a move for her knife when suddenly she heard a door fly open.

Merle came running in the room.

"She left," Merle said catching his breath. "Michonne, she left. Andrea decided to stay."

"Find her. She knows too much."

Arya felt dizzy. What was happening? What did Michonne know? She was in danger, and for the first time in a long time, Arya was scared. She had to be brave. She had to be brave for her father, for her sister, for her mother and brothers, for Gendry.


	6. 0 days without an accident

**Carl**

It was beautiful to be watching the sunrise with his father. Today they were going to help clear the fences. His mom talked to Rick about letting Carl help out more concerning the safety of the group.

That's all Carl wanted, was to _help_. He wanted his father to feel like he could protect himself and the people around him.

_"I'm gonna die.. Mom.. there's no way you could ever be ready for it."_

Carl thought back to that conversation with his father.

If.. If Rick died, Carl wanted to make sure that he was proud of him. That he didn't leave this world being disappointed in Carl.

Carl thought of Shane briefly and then bit his tongue. He wasn't going to think about that right now.

"Here, son." Rick handed Carl a long metal pole. "We're gonna use these, you know guns make too much noise and ammo is hard to come by."

He wasn't shocked that his dad wasn't going to give him his gun yet. Nonetheless, he was happy to be taking down the monsters trying to break into their home.

After 20 minutes of Rick and Carl clearing the fences, Daryl came over and started helping. He used his own knife instead of a metal pole.

"So, Maggie and Glenn are going for a run today? Ya think I should go with 'em, just to be safe?" Daryl grunted as he pulled his knife out of a bulky walker's head.

"I think it'll be faster if they go alone, and Maggie is a good shot." Rick have Daryl a small smile. "And I think they'd like the time away."

Carl rolled his eyes. Maggie and Glenn were always together, why would they want to leave alone?

"Fair enough." Daryl chuckled.

Carl shook his head and went back to the task at hand. He didn't see what was funny.

It was around noon when they were done clearing up the fences. Carl was dripping with sweat and felt disgusting.

"Well, I think it's time for lunch. We should also make sure Maggie and Glenn have everything they need."

Rick looked at Carl and smiled.

This put Carl in a good place, seeing his father smile.

When the three of them made it up to the cafeteria, Maggie and Glenn were already geared up to go. Maggie was hugging Hershel and telling him everything was going to be fine.

Glenn ruffled Carl's hair and gave Rick a reassuring nod.

"We'll be back in a few hours."

Glenn didn't sound convinced of this but smiled anyways.

"Don't get gnawed on out there." Daryl said while biting at his nail.

"Thanks, Daryl. I'll try not to."

Glenn nodded once more to the men and then grabbed Maggie and left.

Carl, Rick, and Daryl sat down and began to eat the squirrel soup that Carol had made.

After about 15 minutes, Beth and Carol came inside from opening the gates up and closing them behind Maggie and Glenn.

"Hi Carl." Beth smiled at him as she walked by.

"Hey." Carl said with a smirk. He thought she was pretty, and he was pretty excited to be checking the perimeter with her today.

Beth was a couple years older than he was but he was sure he made he blush a few times.

******  
The boys mother was sleeping on the couch and Carl was laying on the floor in front of her, next to his father's best friend Shane. They were watching the news.

Carl's father was in the hospital. Rick and Shane were on duty and Rick got shot. He was in a coma. Carl was worried, but he knew his dad would be okay. He had to be.

Shane had been here every night since, comforting his mom and making sure Carl was okay.

The news was saying strange things about people turning into cannibals, and that people should be aware and stay away from people with fevers. A virus was spreading.

"You believe this, Shane?"

Carl laughed and looked over at Shane.

But Shane wasn't laughing, he had a serious look on his face.

"You think this stuff is real?" Carl whispered, sitting up now.

"I think we gotta be prepared for the worst buddy."

"What about Dad?"

Carl felt the tears coming but held them back, he cried enough in front of Shane. And he was getting older now, he shouldn't be crying.

"We're not gonna go anywhere without your dad."

*******  
"Checking the perimeter gets real boring, I'm glad they decided to let us take watch." Beth said as she smiled at Carl.

It wasn't like they were really keeping watch like everyone else did. Carl could see Carol in the distance with Daryl, they were over by the stream on the other side of the fence.

They checked the perimeter, which was as Beth said, boring. The sun would be going down soon, they'd been out here for about 3 hours.

Carl still didn't have his gun, his dad gave him a knife. Which was an upgrade from the metal pole.

They only took out one walker, and Beth let Carl take it out.

"What's that?"

Beth had her gun at the ready.

"Wait, I don't think they're a walker."

Carl moved closer to the fence to get a better look.

It was a woman, holding shopping baskets full of.. Baby formula and diapers?

"Go get my dad!" Carl said and began to run towards the entrance where the woman was heading.

"Carl, wait!" Beth yelled after him.

But Carl didn't wait, he pulled his knife out and started to undo the wire that was holding the fence together.

"Over here!" Carl yelled to the woman.

She started towards him and Carl realized she was limping and covered in blood.

They managed to catch the attention of a few walkers and they staggered towards them.

Once Carl got the fence open he jumped out and tripped the first walker that came near him.

After he tripped it, he plunged the knife right through it's skull.

Carl went to pull out the knife, but it was jammed in there.. The second walker was getting too close for comfort and he didn't have any other weapons.

For a moment Carl felt scared. He shouldn't be doing this, he should have waited for his father, or even yelled for Daryl to come..

Carl pulled for his knife again with all his might and fell backwards after he finally got it.

The walker fell onto him, Carl felt like he was going to be sick.

Carl tried to stab it's head but couldn't reach it.

The walker stopped moving then, and Carl pushed it off.

It's head was clean off, standing next to him was the woman he was trying to help.

She held a bloody katana in her hands, she had long dread locks and brown intense eyes.

Another walker was coming towards them but once they looked over, an arrow went through it's skull and it fell over.

"CARL, GET AWAY FROM HER."

Ricks voice boomed over the whole courtyard.

Rick and Daryl were outside the fence in a matter of seconds after that.

When Carl didn't move, Rick pushed him back towards Daryl.

"Who are you?" Rick asked the woman while keeping his hand on his holster.

She didn't speak. Instead, she put her katana back in it's sheath.

"The man asked you a question." Daryl said walking forward, his crossbow pointed at her head.

She gave Daryl a look of disgust.

"Dad, she saved me, she's not a threat. Look, she's got stuff for the baby."

Rick tensed up then.

"Why'd you bring that stuff here?" Rick barley whispered.

"Two kids got captured getting this stuff, before they got captured I heard them talking about a prison. They said which direction it was in, so I came here."

She couldn't be talking about Glenn and Maggie, could she?

"Two kids?" Daryl asked lowering his crossbow.

"An Asian and his pretty girlfriend."

Rick and Daryl looked at each other.

"When did this happen?" Rick asked taking a step closer.

"An hour ago, maybe two.. I know where they were taken. I can take you there."

"Rick, what if this is a damn trap?" Daryl asked, voice full of suspicion.

"We can't chance that. Maggie and Glenn are in trouble, we have to help them. We can't have that on our hands." Rick looked at Michonne. "We're gonna have you looked over by our doctor and you're gonna tell us everything you know."

Michonne handed the basket to Carl and they started back towards the prison.

Rick slowed down until he was only within ear shot of Carl.

"Carl, never do that again. Don't go off by yourself with just a knife and no one to watch your back. Especially don't just go up to strangers. The worlds changed, Carl. People are dangerous."

"I'm sorry, Dad. I know people are dangerous now. But she had baby formula and.."

"It's alright, Carl. It's a good thing you did what you did, just don't do it again."


	7. All we do is run

**Arya**

The room was dark and smelt like rotting meat, there was a dim light glowing in the corner of the room, but every time Arya tried to move towards it, the light kept getting further away.

*BANG*

Arya woke with a start. It was the middle of the night, all lights were out, but she could hear talking outside her door.

She stood up and equipped herself with her weapons. Arya moved closer to the door and slipped into her shoes.

"Just stand outside their damn door, alright? I ain't got the time to be fuckin' 'round with ya."

That was Merle, no doubt about it. When did he get back? Stand guard? Did that mean he found Michonne?

She couldn't just stand by while they held that woman prisoner, she didn't want to be here.. Just like Arya.

Maybe if she helped Michonne escape, she would let Arya travel with her, just for a little while..

When Arya heard the retreating footsteps she quietly opened the door and snuck out.

The walk out of the building was too quiet and it took forever.

Arya didn't even know where to look, where would they hold someone? How would Arya even get past the guards?

Her question was answered when she creeped around the corner and went into the alleyway. At the end of the alley, Merle had just walked into a small building followed by the guy she assumed he had been talking to.

She'd hold Merle at gun point if she had to, she would get Michonne and Needle and then they would leave.

Arya took a deep breath and opened the door, the room she stepped into looked like it had been a waiting room, she quietly shut the door and walked towards the back, she peeked through the door with the window and saw the man standing outside a door, he looked angry and tired.

But where was Merle?

"What're ya doing following me kid?"

Arya jumped and pulled her gun out then aimed it at Merle.

"Aw c'mon now, you're not gonna shoot me are ya? That would just make it harder for you to get out of this place."

"Let Michonne go. And I want my sword, I'm leaving. Now."

Merle smirked. "I ain't got Michonne. And I'll help ya leave, I got your sword back in my room. I just gotta pack a bag and we can be on our merry way."

"What?" Arya asked dumbfounded.

He was going to help her leave? He was going to leave with her? She didn't want to go anywhere with _him._

"Listen _Cat, _we don't havethe time to talk logistics here. We have to go."

Merle grabbed her arm and started pulling her along.

Arya let herself be dragged for a moment and then started hitting Merle.

"No! I don't want to go anywhere with you! And if you don't have Michonne who is that guy guarding? Let go of me!"

Merle stopped and then grabbed Arya by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, his intense gaze shut Arya up.

"If ya wanna live you're gonna come with me whether you like it or not, sugar. I'm nothing compared to the Governor and most of his people, do you understand me? They will kill you, and some of the men... Lets just say you'd be wishing you were dead if they got ahold of you. I didn't find the damn bitch when I went out looking for her, I brought back people from my old group.. People that were with my baby brother. And they say he's still alive so were leaving, they're gonna take me to him."

Arya looked into Merle's eyes and put her gun away. She believed him, and if what he said was true she didn't want to be here a moment longer.

"Ok. Ok lets go."

Arya was running, the tears that welled up in her eyes made it difficult to see where she was going but that didn't matter, she just had to get as far away as possible.

Someone grabbed her arm and she pulled out her sword and put the blade at the persons throat.

He was taller than her, with icy blue eyes and black hair.

He released her hand and raised them as if he was surrendering.

"I j-just want to help you." He stammered

"You can't help me."

"I'll take you out of here. Far away from here. I have a car ready to go."

Arya pushed on her sword and broke the mans skin, blood dripped down his throat.

"Please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what they did but they'll be looking for you and we have to go now!"

Arya put her sword down and felt a pang of guilt.

"Promise you'll take me far away from here."

"I promise."

Arya felt better having needle on her, she didn't feel weak anymore.

Merle and her went to Merle's room first, he tossed her needle and packed his bag in a hurry. He said they didn't have time to stop at her room, so she was stuck with a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt that was too big for her.

She hoped Merle packed enough water and food, seeing as how she didn't have her rucksack full of emergency food.

Arya hid in the waiting room while Merle had gone to get the people from his old group.

The man who was standing guard walked through the room Arya was in, he was muttering curses.

"Alright girly, come out."

Arya crawled out from her hiding spot and was looking at an Asian looking man who's face was beat pretty badly, and next to him was a pretty girl who was a few years older than Arya.

"Who's this?" The girl asked looking very suspicious.

"She's coming with us, it doesn't matter who she is."

Merle rushed us out of the building and brought us to the far end of the town, there was a gate that wasn't being watched.

"Where's the guards?" The Asian boy asked looking around.

"Took care of him already." Merle stated shortly.

We jumped the fence and ran into the woods.

After 20 minutes of walking in silence, the girl spoke.

"We're gonna be walking for a few miles, we won't be there until morning."

"That's fine darling, were gonna walk until we get there."

"Can we trust her?" She asked looking back and forth from Merle to Arya.

"Maggie, we can't even trust Merle. Why should we trust someone he's with? She hasn't said a word, we don't even know her name."

"Arya. My name is Arya. And I'm not going to do anything stupid. I just wanted to get out of Woodbury."

Maggie nodded her head and looked at her boyfriend.

Merle looked at Arya with suspicion but masked it quickly.

"I'm Maggie, and this is Glenn."

Glenn sighed and held his hand out for her to shake.

Arya took his hand and shook firmly.

"Sorry for the third degree.. We've just been through a lot."

Arya nodded her head and tried for a small smile.

Glenn returned it and they all continued walking.

Glenn and Maggie were leading and Merle stayed back with Arya, he held his arm back to stop her from walking.

"Ya said your name was Cat."

It was a statement, not a question.

"I lied."

"So how do I know ya ain't lying about your name being Arrya?"

"It's _Arya. _And I lied to the Governor because I don't trust him. Maggie and Glenn seem like good people, I have no reason to lie to them."

"Ya lied to me as well, girly."

"I don't trust you either."

"But I know your name now." Merle smirked.

Arya rolled her eyes.

After about two hours of walking, the sun was rising and they could see a big prison in the distance.

"Home sweet home." Glenn said sarcastically.

"Y'all live in a prison, how fancy."

"It's not much, but it's home." Maggie said and grabbed ahold of Glenn's hand.

Arya smiled as she saw the interaction between the two and was reminded of Gendry. She quickly brushed her thoughts away though.

Glenn headed towards one of the fences that were tied up with wire, Maggie started undoing the fence while Arya and Merle took out the straggling walkers around the fence.

Once they got in, Glenn tied up the fence again.

Arya didn't have a chance to turn around, but she heard the cock of a gun from behind her.

"Drop your weapons."

The voice sounded like it belonged to a teenage boy.

"No, Carl. She's fine." Maggie said standing closer to Arya.

Arya turned around and was looking at a boy her age, pointing a gun at her.

He was wearing a sheriffs hat. He had messy chestnut brown hair, and was wearing a black t shirt that was way too big for him and blue jeans with work boots.

"I'm not giving you my weapons."

"Wow, kid you've grown up."

The boy took his eyes off Arya and then saw Merle. His jaw dropped.

"Merle?"

A man came walking down the hill towards them.

He shared a resemblance to the young boy who was still pointing a gun at her.

"Well look who it is, officer friendly. The man who left me for dead in Atlanta. Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes."


	8. Not so broken

**Carl**

When the girl looked at Carl, she looked at him with curiosity at first, and then she rolled her eyes at him.

Carl wouldn't of known she was a girl if it hadn't been for Maggie referring to her as 'she'.

"How long you gonna stare at me, _officer_?" The girl snapped at Carl.

"Who are you?" Rick jumped forward then, getting in the girls face.

"Woah now, she's with me."

Rick scoffed. "Oh, like that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"She got stuck staying at Woodbury, alright. She's got no family, no group.."

Carl noted the girls demeanor change when Merle said that.

"And look at her, she's a kid."

Michonne and Daryl came down then.

"She's alright Rick, she got brought in the same day I did."

Michonne looked at Arya with wonder and Daryl stared at his brother like he couldn't believe his eyes..

"Merle?" Daryl said quietly.

"Hey baby brother! Bet ya thought I was dead on that rooftop huh? Bet ya thought ya would never see Ol' Merle again."

"We knew ya weren't dead on the rooftop.. We went back for ya man.."

"Shoulda never been left there in the first place!" Merle scowled.

Rick looked over the girl and then took another step forward. The girl stepped back. Rick raised his hands.

"Can I take your weapons?" Ricks tone changed, he was much more gentle.

"Why does everyone want my weapons? This is the apocalypse for fucks sake! I'd like to be able to defend myself if need be and they're _my _weapons." The girl snapped.

Merle laughed and Carl smirked.

She couldn't be older than he was, yet here she was, mouthing off to officer Rick Grimes.

When Rick looked over at Carl, he put his serious face back on.

"Your new job, you keep an eye on her."

"Like a prisoner?!" The girl exclaimed looking back between Carl and Rick with a look of disgust.

"Just to make sure you can be trusted. What's your name?"

The girl crossed her arms and bit her lip.

"Arya." She said quietly.

"Well, Arya.. I'm Rick, and this is my son, Carl."

Rick gestured to Merle. "We got things to discuss about 'Woodbury'."

Rick brought Maggie in for a hug and shook Glenn's hand. "Glad to have you back."

Carl got ready to give his gun back to his father but Rick put a hand on Carl's shoulder.

"Show her to an empty cell, get her food and water. Keep an eye out."

Rick started back towards the cell blocks and everyone gradually followed.

"So, Carl.. I don't need you to babysit me. Just show me to my .._cell_? Geez, lovely home.. A prison."

Carl cleared his throat.

"You know, you should be grateful you're even here. My dad didn't have to let you stay."

"Grateful?! You want me to be grateful that I get to be looked after, like an animal?!"

The girl balled her fists at her side.

"And you best point your gun somewhere else before I show you what I can do with my sword."

Carl felt his cheeks redden, he forgot he was still pointing his gun at her.

He put his gun back in its holster.

"Sorry. Lets go, I'll show you around.."

****  
Arya didn't talk much, and to be honest Carl didn't care. She could be stubborn if she wanted to.

"Why do you wear that hat?" She asked out of no where.

Carl looked at her and grey eyes stared back at him. They might have been pretty if she hadn't rolled them at Carl again.

"Fine don't answer me, it's a stupid hat anyways."

He looked away in embarrassment.

"Here's your cell."

Carl stopped in front of an empty cell which happened to be two cells away from his.

"Whatever." Arya stomped into the cell.

"There's water and food next to your bed.. If you need anything else I'm two cells down from you." Carl said still standing outside her cell.

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on me?" She asked in a sarcastic tone.

It was Carl's turn to roll his eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid."

Once Carl was in his cell he sat on his cot and let out a heavy sigh. Just before they saw Maggie, Glenn, Merle, and Arya at the gate.. Carl was about to see his father off. Rick, Daryl, and Michonne were about to leave for Woodbury to get our people back.

It's a good thing they came back, that meant less people would get hurt.

Even if Merle was an asshole, at least Daryl had his brother back.

And his dad let him keep his gun.. It had been given to him when they saw people coming through the gates.

Did that mean he proved himself? Will he be allowed to keep his gun on him from now on?

Carl sat up quickly and walked upstairs to the cell his mom and sister were in.

When he walked in his mom was walking around the room, feeding his baby sister.

"You look better." Carl said as he smiled at them both.

"Hershel says I should be back to normal in a day or two." Lori beamed back at him. "How's things been? Your father left for Woodbury already? He's going to bring Maggie and Glenn back baby, don't worry."

"They're back."

Lori looked confused.

"They went outside to leave, I went outside to open and close the gate for them.. And dad gave me my gun because he saw people coming in through the fence.. Maggie and Glenn came back.. They were brought back by this hard headed brat named Arya and Merle.. You remember Merle?"

Carl looked at his mother expecting to see relief that Maggie and Glenn were safe but Lori looked angry.

"Dixon? And where is he now, your father let him in didn't he?"

Carl regretted telling her. He didn't want her to be mad at his dad.

"He brought Maggie and Glenn back.."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who took them in the first place!" Lori exclaimed.

His baby sister started crying then and Lori calmed her and sat down on her cot. Carl sat down next to her.

"What're you gonna name her?"

Lori's attitude changed then, "what do you think we should call her?"

Carl stared at the wall.. "Well there's Amy... Jacqui.. Andrea... Patricia... Sophia."

Lori brought Carl in for a hug.

"You remember the name of your third grade teacher, Mrs. Wheeler? Her first name was Judith."

"Yeah, I remember." Carl said with a small smile.

"How does Judith sound?"

"Judith..." Carl thought about it and looked at his baby sister.

"Yeah, Judith. I like that."


	9. Broken

Arya

Three days had gone by since Arya joined Merle at the prison. She mainly stayed in her cell, only coming out to eat or use the bathroom. Carl tried talking to her once, yesterday evening... but she told him to go away. Whenever she left her cell, he would be there watching her every move.

Arya was more concerned about the fact that the Governor could find them any day.

She overheard Merle and Rick talking about a battle plan this morning, she heard something about getting the prison riot gear from the armory. Then Rick was starting to say something about where he wanted the kids if there was an attack... Then Daryl came up from behind her and told her to scram before she could hear another word.

"Why were you eavesdropping on my dad earlier?" Carl asked when Arya went to get something to eat.

"Because."

"You barely talk to us."

"So."

Arya looked at the boy. He wasn't wearing his hat.

_It is a stupid hat. _She thought.  
_He isn't even a sheriff. He's a pretender._

"So, if you want to make friends you should try talking to us. You could at least tell us about yourself."

Carl looked away from her when she made eye contact. Why does he even care, he's only talking to her because he has to keep an eye on her. He's probably trying to get information on her to tell his dad.

"I don't need friends." Arya said and picked up a can of pineapples.

"Everyone needs friends."

Carl looked at Arya then. He looked sincere.

She wanted to smile at him then until she noticed his eyes were blue.. Blue like Gendry's.

Arya looked away and ran off back to her cell without another word.

It wasn't that she was weak, she just never got the chance to mourn. She carried on, just trying to stay alive.. But now that she was safe, surrounded by people could she give herself a little time to let it all out?

_No. _She thought. The governor could come any day, he couldn't catch her in a moment of weakness.

She heard someone come in behind her, "leave me alone." Arya said before she even got the chance to look and see who it was.

"Well that's no way to thank me, darling."

The familiar southern drawl made her roll her eyes.

"Thank you for what? For taking me prisoner at Woodbury and then getting me out of Woodbury or for getting me out of Woodbury and taking me prisoner here?"

Arya turned around then and gave Merle a challenging look.

"You're not a prisoner, little lady."

"That stupid boy watches me like a hawk because his daddy told him to keep his eye on me. What do you call that?"

"Precaution."

Arya scoffed.

"My brother has to keep an eye on me, you think I ain't pissed about that? Never imagined the day my baby brother would be babysitting me."

Merle sighed and sat on Arya's bed.

"How well do you know the area around here?"

"Why?" She asked looking at him, suspicion filled her eyes.

"Because dammit, officer friendly and I need to check around the area and see if the governors got any scouts out looking for us.. You don't know this guy, he's dangerous."

Arya had a feeling there was something he was neglecting to tell her, she stood up and paced in her cell.

"I know some of the area.. I'll take you to a quiet town a few miles away. There's nothing there, there's barley even biters... But, you have to take me with you."

"Deal." Merle smirked.

An hour later and Arya stepped outside, it was her first time being out in a few days. The sun felt so nice on her skin.

Arya decided that she would make Merle tell her everything on their way to check the small town, there had to be things he knew about the Governor that he wasn't telling her.

"You ready?" Rick asked as he walked up to them. Arya noticed Carl following closely behind, he was wearing his stupid hat.

"Why's he coming?" Arya asked quiet enough so only Merle could hear.

"Keep ya mouth shut or ya aint coming." Merle shot back.

Stupid redneck. Stupid sheriff and his stupid son.

They loaded up in the mini van they had near the gate. Maggie and Glenn opened the gate and told them to be safe and that they'd see them soon.

Arya thought Maggie and Glenn were sweet, but it felt like everyone there looked at Arya as if she were the bad guy. She did nothing wrong. She also didn't belong with these people.

After 20 minutes of driving and two wrong turns they finally got to the small town, Arya hadn't noticed the sign before the town.. It used to say "Bernthen town" but someone wrote over it with black spray paint and it now read "turn back now" Had that always been there?

"Thought you said the town was empty." Merle stated sounding annoyed.

"It was.. It is. I was only here a week ago."

A week? Had it only been a week? Surely it's been longer than that..

Rick stopped the van then. "We're going to check it out, see if you can get any supplies.. Anything at all. Keep an eye out. The governor could have men stationed here for all we know."

"If he did, I'm sure we would have been attacked by now.. Seeing as how we aren't being very sneaky." Arya said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

She noticed Carl smirking in the corner of her eye. Arya smiled to herself.

"Listen, little lady.. We don't have no time to fuck around. This place gives me the willies and I don't wanna be here for longer than need be. So lets get the shit were looking for, look around the place, and _go._"

"A place that creeps _you_ out? I don't want to be here longer than we need to be then." Carl said picking at his nails.

It was the first time he spoke since they got in the car.

When they got out of the car, everyone readied their weapons.

Arya pulled her sword out and it felt good to have her needle back in her hands again...

She was briefly reminded of her time spent with her brothers when they helped her learn how to use a sword..

*****  
*CLANG*

"Good one, Robb!" Arya yelled as she watched her brother knock her stepbrother's sword out of his hands.

They weren't real sharp swords, just practicing ones. Her father had let her brothers take fencing lessons, while Arya and her sister Sansa were stuck taking dancing lessons.

Sansa didn't complain, she loved dancing. She loved stories about romance and the stupid love songs.

Sansa sat on her phone, annoyed at the fact that they had to wait for their brothers lesson to end.

Arya jumped up and grabbed her stepbrother, Jon's sword before he could. She then side stepped and moved her wrist just like she watched Robb move his a thousand times over.

When Robb's sword fell out of his hand, Arya's face lit up.

Robb removed his fencing mask and didn't look as proud as she thought he would.

"Arya, you could have gotten hurt! You can't do everything I do!" Robb stalked off after that.

Arya felt like crying in that moment, she just wanted to show Robb she could use a sword too. She didn't want to take stupid dance lessons.

"Hello boy, when did you join my fencing class?"

"I'm not a boy and I'm not apart of your class." Arya said without turning to face the fencing instructor.

"Boy.. Girl.. This doesn't matter. It took your brother months to learn that move, yet you come running into the fencing area, with the wrong attire, and you unarm him with no problem. How?"

Arya turned to look at the curly haired instructor then, his name was Mr. Forel.

"Robb was caught off guard." She stated solemnly.

"So you're just a dancer, like your sister?" Mr. Forel nodded towards Sansa who was taking pictures of herself and sending them to her friends.

"No.. That's not me." Arya answered and the fencing master smiled at her.

"No, you are a sword."

After that day Arya never went to a dancing lesson again.

Arya and Merle were searching through some pub and the only thing they managed to find was a bottle of peach schnapps.

"Gross." Merle said as he eyed the bottle.

"What are you hiding from me?" Arya figured now would be the only time she'd be alone with Merle.

"This." Merle held up the bottle. "You don't need no peach schnapps."

Arya rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean about the Governor. You know something about him."

Merle's face went from amused to annoyed in the matter of seconds.

"Now why would you think there's something I'm hiding?" Merle questioned her.

"Why would he come looking for us? We left, but you and Michonne think he's gonna find us."

"You're too smart for your own good."

Arya crossed her arms and stared at Merle.

"Damn ya.. He's been looking for that prison for a while now. There was an inmate that came across Woodbury a while back, but he was bit.. He didn't get a chance to tell us where the prison was.. When I found Glenn and his farmer girl they said they were staying at a prison, didn't find out they were still with Daryl until I brought 'em back to Woodbury. So you can see why our pal, Phillip, will be mad that I took off with them.. And you." Merle's face darkened then. "You don't wanna know what he thought about you, little lady. You just be glad I got you out of there."

"So you think he's going to find the prison?" Arya asked nervously.

She found herself wanting to know what the Governor thought of her and why it worried Merle so much.

"No.. I know he's going to find the prison."


	10. 30 seconds

**Carl**

Carl was helping Rick grab medical supplies, they lucked out when they found the clinic.

"Hershel will be happy with what we bring back, I hope Merle and Arya got as lucky as we did."

Carl found himself thinking about Arya and the way she smiled at herself after seeing Carl find amusement in her being a smart ass towards his father.

He thought she was brave, maybe even stronger than he was.. Which was an embarrassing thought that he would never admit.

"Have you gotten to talk to her?" Rick asked while handing the bag to Carl and readying his weapon. "I can ask Beth to take over if you'd rather that? You can help Hershel with the garden.."

_Like hell_

"No, it's okay, Dad. I don't mind."

They walked out of the store and could see Arya and Merle walking towards them. Perfect timing.

"Well Arya got one thing right, this town is even walker free. I wonder how different things would have been if we had found this place first... We could have-"

Rick's words were cut off short when a number of things all happened at once..

The first thing that registered with Carl was a scream, a girls scream. The same girl standing only 15 feet in front of him.

Merle had pushed her to the side and she fell to the ground, he had pushed her away from a walker that had latched on to her hair.

A walker? Where did that come from?

Carl was shoved to the ground and heard the sound of multiple gun shots.

"Carl, in 30 seconds I want you to get up and run to the van, do you hear me?!" Rick asked as he laid on the ground beside him, gun shots still firing through the air.

Carl shook his head frantically and looked around for the source of the gunshots.

25 seconds.

Carl pulled his gun from the holster and turned the safety off.

20 seconds.

He looked over to where he'd last seen Arya and Merle. Merle was fighting off three walkers.

10 seconds.

Arya was still on the ground, and she was holding her arm, it was covered with blood. She looked like she was crying..

5 seconds.

This would be the last time Carl ever saw Arya, she was bit or clawed up by a walker, there was nothing they could do now. He wished he could have gotten to know more about her..

"CARL, NOW!" Ricks voice boomed as Rick jumped up and started firing his gun in the direction Carl assumed the shooters were in.

Carl sprang up and ran towards the van, before he left he saw Merle take down the last walker on his tail and then Merle ran over to Arya.

He jumped into the van without hesitation and then collapsed on the seat.

It took him a minute to register everything that just happened and to catch his breath.

He shouldn't have left them all there. They could all die and it would be his fault.

Carl panicked then and started up the van. He didn't know how to drive but he assumed it wasn't that hard.

He drove the van to where Merle and Arya were, Arya had passed out with blood all over her Merle had ripped off a part of his shirt and tied it around her arm, Carl looked over to where his father was standing but didn't see him.

"Where's my dad?!" Carl asked the moment he got out of the van.

Merle rolled his eyes and growled.

"He chased after the sons of bitches that shot at us."

Carl scratched the back of his head. Is his father okay? Why didn't he stay with him? Why did he run?

Carl shouldn't have listened to Rick.

"Are you going to chop off her arm?" Carl asked looking at Arya, she was as white as a ghost.

Merle looked at Carl like he was the stupidest person he'd ever laid his eyes on.

"It's just a damn gun shot! Take her back to that doctor of yours soon enough and she should be fine."

Carl felt a wave of relief wash over him. Arya wasn't bit, she wasn't going to turn.

Merle picked Arya up like she was a small cat and put her in the van. Merle hopped in the drivers seat and motioned for Carl to get in.

"What? What about my dad?!" Carl couldn't believe Merle was going to just leave without him.

"He left _us! _You wanna live? You wanna survive?!"

Just then Rick rounded the corner, breathing heavily and covered in blood.

"Get in the van, Carl! Merle, lets go." Carl did as he was told and sat in the back with Arya. She was still passed out and sweating.

Carl hoped she would be okay.

"What happened out there, officer friendly?" Merle asked as he sped back to the prison.

"One of the men, they got away. I killed the other two. One of them got me but I'll be fine.. I think they'll find the prison soon enough. We need to rethink our battle plan."

Arya started throwing a coughing fit next to Carl and Merle drove faster.

Carl didn't know what to do, so he held on to Arya's hand and hoped Merle would make it back to the prison before she lost too much blood.


	11. Fierce as a wolverine

**Arya**

The last thing Arya saw was Carl laying on the ground, and then it looked like he was running towards her.

Everything happened so fast. A biter came out of nowhere and grabbed her from the back of the head, then about a second later Arya had a burning pain in her arm that made her scream.

That wasn't what pissed her off.. Merle had then proceeded to _shove _Arya to the ground.

At first she thought she was bit or scratched , but then she heard the gun shots.

_The Governor._ Arya's mind filled with all the gruesome things she could do to that man in that moment.

_This prick is going to pay I swear it by the gods._

Arya bit back a laugh.

_Gods.. They're playing a cruel joke on all of us. The dead are walking around and it's man vs man._

Arya felt the tears then, she didn't know when she started crying but she tried to focus on anything but the pain.

That's when she saw Carl. He was laying on the ground with his father. He looked at her then, but he wasn't looking at her the way she was looking at him.

She saw the way his hair dangled in his eyes, and the way he pushed up his hat like it was an involuntary motion.

_Such a stupid hat for such a stupid boy. _Arya smiled to herself.

She should make more of an effort to talk to him and be his friend. They are around the same age. Who knows how long they have left in this world, she should have been getting to know him this whole week.

"CARL, NOW!"  
Rick's voice brought Arya back to reality and she watched Rick jump up and shoot towards where the gun shots were, then she watched as Rick ran towards them.

Carl was on his feet at that point, he was running towards her. The stupid boy was coming to save her.

And then everything went black.

It was a normal day in the apocalypse. Gendry and Arya had been checking the houses on the new neighborhood they stumbled upon.

The first house they checked through the window and saw that it had about five walkers in the living room. Gendry made a joke about dead people in a living room.

The next house they checked looked clear, until Arya found a raccoon in one of the cupboards and refused to stay there.

The third house was a safe haven. They cleared the house in three minutes, there was only 2 biters inside. And it was stocked with food. Cereal, granola bars, five gallons of water, a hundred cans of fruits and vegetables.

"We could stay here! We could live here for a little while!" Gendry looked at Arya and he was actually smiling.

Arya smiled back at him.

And then Gendry did something Arya thought would never happen in a million years.. He kissed her.

His lips felt hot against Arya's, she opened her mouth to breathe and Gendry took that as an invitation to stick his tongue in her mouth, which she didn't mind in the slightest.

They kissed until they were both breathing heavily.

"S-sorry I didn't mean-"

Arya shut him up with another kiss.

She stared into his eyes and smirked, "Shut up."

Gendry smirked back at her, "Thats not very lady like."

Arya laughed and punched him in the arm.

They ate until they felt sick and then they both found a bed to rest in upstairs.

"I don't know how things work now.." Gendry had started to say as he played with Arya's hair. "But I like you, Arya."

Arya looked at him and her heart leapt with joy. It was her and him against the world now. He was everything she had left, he helped her keep the old her around.

"I like you too, stupid."

Gendry laughed and got up to go downstairs to get some water.

Arya laid in bed thinking about all the things Gendry and her could do when the world gets back to normal.

Arya didn't realize she dozed off until she woke with a start because of a loud bang.

She jumped up and grabbed her sword off the nightstand, she expected to see Gendry in the room but was confused when he wasn't there.

Surely he's the one making noise downstairs, he could attract stray biters roaming around if he makes anymore noise..

She tiptoed down the stairs and made her way towards the kitchen, she walked into something when she stepped off the last stair, she fell backwards and looked up.. A random dead face was staring back at her, it's decomposing arms outstretched towards her.

Arya pushed herself back up the stairs using her arms and legs to move backwards and then she stood up and plunged her sword through it's skull. She kicked it with all her might to pull her sword out of it's brain.

She thought they cleared the house? Where was Gendry? Did we leave a door open?

Arya ran to the kitchen and saw what caused all the noise.. A majority of the cans were knocked onto the floor and Gendry was laying on the floor next to the cans, covered in blood.

"No, no, no." Arya ran to him and dropped her sword along the way.

He had a bleeding bite mark on his neck and his skin was cold as ice.

"Gendry, please wake up." Arya whispered as she cradled his head in her lap.

Then it hit her, even if he did wake up he would turn. Arya started crying then.

The only thing she had left was leaving her. She didn't want to be alone.

Gendry started to move in her hands and Arya felt a surge of happiness. She would be able to talk to him one last time, to kiss him and tell him she'd be okay, she would survive for him.

But when Gendry opened his eyes, the icy blue eyes Arya had found comfort in we're glossed over and the look in his eyes looked lost.

"No!" Arya yelled and backed away from Gendry, as she backed away her sword found it's way under her sweaty palm.

Gendry crawled towards her as Arya kept backing away.

She couldn't leave him like this, he wouldn't if it was her..

Arya stood up and jammed her sword straight through his skull. She pulled her sword away and closed his eyes. Then she ran out of the house and ran away from it until the sun came up and her body hurt.

Arya felt herself coughing and the pain was unbearable.

She also felt something in her right hand, she thought it was her sword but she's left handed. When she squeezed her right hand she felt someone squeeze back.

When she opened her eyes she saw blue eyes staring back at her.

"G-Gendry?" She coughed out.

"It's Carl, you're going to be okay. We're almost home."

_Home. _Arya didn't have a home. Arya had no one to go home to.

Arya didn't have another moment to speak because her world turned black again.


	12. This sorrowful life

**Carl**

It had been five days since they had gotten Arya to the prison, she was still in the cell Hershel used to tend to people. She was in and out, when she was awake she was eating. But, she was healing.

Carl stood outside the cell every night, sometimes he would accidentally fall asleep and would wake up to Hershel stepping on him.

The first night back Carl couldn't sleep. His head filled with images of all the people he's lost. The only feeling he felt was guilt. Guilt for the walker that killed Dale. Guilt for not finding Sophia in time. Guilt for running away instead of running to help Arya.

He had heard a scream from one of the cells upstairs, his feet were moving faster than his brain and before he knew it he was in her cell, looking down at her.

She was curled up in fetal position on top of her blanket, she had her weight on the arm that wasn't injured.

Carl noticed that she had been shot in her right arm, and she was left handed.. That was helpful at least.

He guessed that she always cried out in her sleep, but it still worried him. He had a nagging thought in the back of his head telling him to just stay in there until morning incase things got too bad for her and he had to wake her up..

"Carl."

The voice startled him and when he turned around he saw his father peeking in the door way.

He walked out of Arya's cell after taking one last glance at her.

"Merle said she talks in her sleep, when she stayed at Woodbury I guess she yelled and Merle stood outside her door for the rest of the night."

Carl nodded his head once and looked at his feet.

"Dad, what're we going to do when the prison gets attacked?"

He felt his father shift nervously. "We're not going down without a fight. This is our home and I think we stand a chance."

"Do you think that's what Shane would have done? Or would Shane bring us far away from here and to safety?" Carl looked at his father then, his curiosity got the better of him.

What was the real reason his father killed his best friend? Why did it have to happen?

Rick's demeanor changed and he shifted his eyes to anywhere but Carl.

"I don't know what Shane would have done, but this is what _I'm_ doing for _us_." And with that, Rick walked off towards his cell and Carl sat outside Arya's cell until he eventually gave in to sleep.

The morning was cloudy and chilly, the fog rolled in like waves of smoke and surrounded the prisons courtyard, making it difficult to see even the walkers around the fence.

Carl was sitting at one of the tables in their cell block, picking at his breakfast which was a can of diced peaches and rock hard bread.

Arya sat in the corner of the room eating with Merle and Daryl.

She looked better than she had in days. She snorted at something Daryl said and Merle grunted with annoyance and decided to walk away.

Lori walked over with Judith in her hands and sat at the table with him. She prepared Judith to be fed and started eating some of Carl's peaches.

"How are you feeling today, baby?" Lori smiled at her son.

Carl had to admit, he wished he could be as strong as his mom sometimes. She always seemed so brave, even when she was scared she made sure she was brave.

"I'm doing alright, not looking forward to all this yard work dad wants us to do." He groaned before shoving another peach in his mouth.

Lori laughed and looked over to Rick who was talking to Hershel and Carol.

"You'll get through it lazy boy."

He laughed and Lori fixed herself while handing Judith to Carl.

"You wanna burp her for me?"

Carl agreed and held his sister. He couldn't help but think about how she would never experience a Christmas like he did, she'll never know what school is, she will never see a Disney movie.

He pushed the bad thoughts away and laughed when his sister burped and puked all over his shirt.

He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"It kinda looks like she has Shane's smile!" Carl exclaimed smiling at his mom but the look she had in her face made all his enthusiasm disappear.

"Mom, wha-" Lori picked Judith up out of his hands and patted his head before walking away.

Maybe he struck a nerve when bringing up Shane, he knew his mom and him were close but it happened so long ago, Carl figured he could talk about him now without making things sad.

Carl's eyes lingered around the room until they met with Arya's.

Her gray eyes stared back at him and they were filled with wonder and curiosity and maybe even pity. Carl then broke away from her gaze and went off to change his shirt and prepare for a day of yard work.

The day hadn't changed much since that morning, the fog still billowed around the fences which made it difficult to see the group that went down to clear the walkers out.

Carl was with his father, mother, Judith, Beth, Arya, and Hershel next to the cell block entrance in the cropping area. While the others; Daryl, Merle, Michonne, Maggie, Glenn, and Carol all cleared the fences and tried to secure it more properly.

The only difference from the morning was that it was no longer chilly, the humid air made Carl's shirt stick to his back and his hair stick to his face.

Beth held Judith in her lap while Arya practiced with her sword and Hershel talked to Lori.

Carl and Rick were digging up a patch of land to plant tomato seeds.

Carl found himself wishing he had a sword to practice with so he could train with Arya. He wondered if she knew how to shoot a gun, maybe if he taught her how to use one she would teach him how to use a sword..

Carl's thoughts trailed off as he heard the engines of cars in the distance. He stopped his farm work and stood up. Rick was up in seconds and went to the table where their weapons sat and started distributing.

"This wasn't supposed to happen, I thought we'd have more time." Carl heard his father mumbling to himself.

"Rick," Lori rushed over to them, now holding Judith. "Rick, what's going on?"

Rick handed Carl his gun just as Arya walked over to stand next to Carl.

"What's happening?" Though she had a rough exterior, Carl could see a hint of fear in her gray eyes.

"Just relax, we're going to figure everything out. We just need to regroup, we have it planned out, we need to get to the others."

Carl turned the safety off of his gun and looked up to see walkers in the courtyard, where everyone else had been.

"Shit!" Rick cried out realizing what Carl had realized.

"Rick, I don't think the plans going to work. We need to get each other to safety, I'm sure that's what the others are doing. I'm sure that's what they'd-"

But Hershel's words were cut short, he dropped to his knees and the blood started pouring from his mouth.

"Daddy!" Beth screamed as she ran towards her father.

Carl stared in shock at the horrific sight, Hershel was dying and they all just stood around and watched. Why weren't they helping?

What could they do..

"He was shot!" Beth said after realizing the bullet wound on his back. She stared around the courtyard wildly. "They must have a silencer!"

Carl glanced around, the walkers near the fence were getting too close for comfort.

"We have to go, now!" Carl shouted looking back and forth from the walkers to his father.

He felt horrible for having to leave Hershel behind, but what good would it be for all of them to die? He had a sister to think about.

Rick seemed to step out of his trance then and took his eyes away from Hershel.

"Lets move." Rick grabbed Carl first and moved him to the front, making Carl lead the way. Rick followed closely with Lori and Judith behind him, Arya and Beth followed.

They started towards the main gate to the prison, they ran there and Carl started opening the gate, once Beth got there they had the gate open and they were ready to go.

"You shithead!"

Carl almost laughed, how ridiculous of Arya to say something like that at a time like this. He turned around to see what made her say it and he stopped dead in his tracks.

A man was holding Arya at gun point, staring at them with eyes full of insanity.

"All I want is this prison, and this one." He motioned to Arya. "I also want Merle and Michonne."

Carl couldn't believe what this lunatic was saying. He wanted to say something, but the ability to speak was lost to him. He couldn't stop looking at the gun held in his hand, pointing straight at Arya's head.

Again, he found himself wishing he had just gotten to know her. He had all day to talk to her and the most he had done was make eye contact and nod awkwardly her way when she laughed at him for getting dirt on his dad.

"There's no need for more blood to get spilled here today. Just put the gun down, we can talk about this."

"I DONT WANT TO TALK." The mans voice boomed over the entire courtyard. Carl assumed that this guy was the Governor. "I'm going to give you people to the count of 3 to tell me where I can find who I'm looking for, and then you're going to go." He cocked his gun and Arya let out a cry, he held her tighter.

The Governor brought his hand to her face and let his fingers brush her hair out of her face. Then he gave her a smile that sent pure rage through Carl.

Carl didn't think about anything except Arya when he aimed his gun at the Governor. He pulled the trigger and he let go of Arya, she fell face first onto the ground as the governor fell backwards clutching his face.

Carl had shot him in the eye.

Arya grabbed for her sword and turned around to stab him, he was writhing on the ground in pain.

"Arya!" Rick yelled for her and she turned towards him. Carl saw the crazed look in her eyes but it quickly vanished when her gaze met his own.

He tried to give her a look of pleading, hoping she'd follow them instead of turning around.

Her posture relaxed and she started walking towards them.

"Where the fuck you think you're going baby doll?!" One of the governor's goons had yelled over to them, he had just rounded the corner of the cell block entrance with four other men.

"Just run, I'll cover you! Carl, go with your mother now!" Rick yelled as he started shooting at the men.

The walkers were close now, Carl shot at a couple as he waited for Arya to be in pace with his own.

Carl took the lead again and kept running. He heard screams from the men that had chased them, he heard cries from his sister, he heard Beth yelling incoherent words, he heard his mom yell for his father, he even heard his father yell to him. But Carl kept running, the footsteps and quickened breaths behind him gave him the security in knowing Arya was following. Carl ran to nowhere with his fathers words echoing in his head.. _Don't look back Carl, just keep running._


	13. Too far gone

**Arya**

The sounds of Carl's little sister's cries ran through her head. Although, she knew she wasn't there and crying anymore.

Arya turned around when Rick told Carl to not look back. She saw the men who were shooting at them gathered around where the Governor sat bleeding. She saw Rick holding his wife and daughter, there was blood all over them. She saw Rick plant a kiss on them before running to chase after them. The look on his face made Arya's heart sink.

Arya also saw Michonne making her way towards the group of men who attacked them, but she didn't see what happened next. She turned her head back towards Carl and followed him every step of the way.

Arya found herself hoping Merle was okay. Even though Merle pissed her off, in a way he had helped her... She thought about the others and hoped the same for them, even though she didn't know them all too well, they were all good people from what Arya could see.

After running for what seemed like an hour, Carl finally slowed down and collapsed to the ground.

He sat with his head in his hands, gasping for air. Arya steadied herself and put her hands on her knees while catching her breath.

After five minutes, Rick sauntered over. His face was dark and unreadable. He looked murderous in a way... it scared Arya, but she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

Carl's breathing evened out and he glanced up. When his eyes met with Arya's, he held his gaze to hers. She didn't break eye contact until he finally looked at his father.

Arya watched Carl's eyes travel past Rick and he stared down the road they just ran on.

For a moment, Arya thought he was waiting for the men to still be chasing after them until he asked the question that shattered Arya's heart.

"Where's mom and Judith?"

Carl looked expectantly at Rick, and Rick glued his eyes to the ground. Carl stood up abruptly and stood in front of Rick.

"Where are they?!" Carl demanded balling his hands into fists.

"They-" Rick couldn't seem to find the right words to say as he dragged his hand through his hair, the sadness was very clear in his face. He attempted to begin again, "Your mom was shot in the back, Carl. She was holding Judith and the bullet went through her too."

Rick began to break down and sob as he held his head in his hands.

Arya looked at Carl then but she couldn't see his face because he turned away from her.

She felt the need to weep for him in that moment. Arya had lost her mother and sister too, she knew how it felt.

Arya almost walked over to him to try and comfort him but he started walking away.

"Carl, wait." Arya went to follow him and then he broke out in a run.

"Carl!" She yelled as hurried after him.

He ran down the road a little ways until he came to a small house and he turned to run into the driveway. He tried to run into the house but Arya tackled him to the ground before he could open the door.

Arya straddled him and rested both her knees on his arms.

Either Carl wasn't very strong or made no attempt to push her off.

"Don't be stupid!" Arya said with a look of annoyance. "You could have walked into that house and got jumped by 5 biters for all you know!"

Arya's face softened and she looked Carl in his eyes. "I know you're upset. I know how it feels to lose your family, and I'm sorry. But you can't go off and be reckless! That's how you get hurt.. Or killed. You can't die.. Your dad needs you. I'm sure some of your group is still out there. We can't give up. I can be here to help you through it." Arya smiled at Carl then.

She realized that she could help Carl like Gendry helped her.

Carl hadn't said a word since Arya pinned him down. His face was still unreadable as Arya shifted her weight to give him use of his arms.

He brought his hand to one of Arya's arms and held it for a moment.

She didn't know what to do and thought about resting her hand on his, until he shoved her off him.

Arya fell to the ground with a thud and then Carl climbed on her and held her arms down with his knees.

"You can't chase after me and tell me what to do." Carl said with a firm voice, he sounded almost like Rick. "I wanted to go in that house to get away from my dad, to get away from you, and to get away from everything! I could have handled all the walkers by myself! I don't need you, I don't need anyone! Just because my mom and sister died doesn't mean you have to pretend to care. You don't need friends, remember?" and with that Carl hopped off Arya and stalked away to the backyard.

Arya gave herself a minute to take in what Carl had said to her, she creeped around the house and saw Carl sitting in the middle of the lawn with his hands in his hair.

She couldn't be mad at him, even though he was wrong.

She did care.


End file.
